Rose Kazanjian died on September 12th after a long and happy life. The daughter of the late John and Mary Kazanjian, who operated the former School Street Spa on the corner of School and Laurel Streets in Watertown, she is predeceased by her late brother Louis, a Watertown Fireman, her late sister Anita and her husband Albert Hadjian, and her late brother-in-law Charles Kaloostian. Rose was unmarried and lived her entire life in her parent’s home on Cypress Street and then Lovell Road in Watertown, and in her later years at Meadow Green Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Waltham. In the hours before she passed away, she was in the presence of those who loved her.
Diagnosed with an epileptic seizure disorder in high school, Rose required numerous medications to control her symptoms and her parents were reluctant to let her obtain a drivers license. However, this did not diminish her enthusiasm for life or having fun. She enjoyed figure skating on the Charles River with her high school friends and routinely worked at the soda fountain in her parent’s store. Growing up in a first floor apartment, she never had her own bedroom, sleeping on a small bed next to the front door. Upon graduating from Watertown High School, Rose attended the former Bryant and Stratton Business School. She subsequently worked at Boston Linotype for 25 years and then the Anchor Hocking Corporation for 12 years, with long commutes to both Boston and Woburn. With her girlfriends from work, she went on summer vacations to Cape Cod and winter vacations to NH and Maine where she tried skiing.
Her greatest joy was to spend time with her family, sharing meals and conversation. Sunday dinners were a favorite ritual, as were holiday gatherings that included the Gadarian family from NY. She also made numerous trips to visit the Gadarians in NY, seeing plays on Broadway and going to the Worlds Fair. As a young woman, she and Sylvia Gadarian vacationed in Mexico. On a subsequent trip to visit Sylvia and her husband Jack in California, she mistakenly took a side tour to Las Vegas and flew in a helicopter over the Hoover Dam. Rose became an accomplished cook, learning Armenian recipes from her mother, hosting summertime lobster dinners for her family and making delicious apple pies. She passed down her specialty of making the Armenian Easter braided bread roll, choereg, to her nephew’s daughter, Sarah Hadjian. In later years, after she moved to Meadow Green and became confined to a wheel chair, she enthusiastically joined various activities and enjoyed chatting with her aides. She retained a remarkable level of mental acuity, with an ability to discuss virtually any subject in the news, politics or sports, and a very sharp memory of past events and people in her life. She always greeted everyone with a big smile and a big hello. Her siblings Anita, Grace, and Lou were constant visitors. And even though she spent over 10 years in a nursing home, she always had a positive, upbeat attitude, a trait that was encouraged by her brother Lou. Rose was a remarkable woman who dealt with a serious neurological condition, never allowing it to define who she was or what she wanted to do. She led a wonderful life. She loved her family and they loved her. She will be warmly remembered.
Rose leaves behind her sister, Grace Kaloostian. She also leaves behind her nephew, Richard Hadjian, his wife Mary, and their two children, Gregory and Sarah; her niece Karen Kaloostian; and her nephew Peter Kaloostian, his wife Lisa, and their three children, Peter, Haley and Kayla. The Hadjian and Kaloostian families wish to say, thank you, to Rose’s wonderful friends, for all the love and memories which you shared with her over the years.
Visiting hours will be held at the Aram Bedrosian Funeral Home, 558 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown on Monday, September 17, from 10-11am, during which we will celebrate her life. Following a short service at 11am, a private burial will follow at Ridgelawn Cemetery in Watertown where she will be rejoined with her parents. Donations in lieu-of-flowers can be made in Rose’s name to the Resident Council at Meadow Green Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, 45 Woburn St., Waltham, MA 02452. For guestbook and directions see www.bedrosianfuneralhome.com.